wcaty

Young Scholar Program

Mentor-guided in-depth research program
May through August
Students currently in grades 7-8

Young Scholar Fair September 13, 2008
American Family Insurance Headquarters
6000 American Parkway, Madison, Wis.

Sponsored by:

Young Scholar Program Requirements & Application Information

Academic mentoring has long been a crucial part of an academically challenging and rigorous education. When a young person has continued a deep and abiding interest in one topic for many years, it might be time to work with an academic mentor. The initial interest may have begun on a school field trip, a family vacation or a documentary movie, but there comes a time when the usual school curriculum and the grade level teachers will no longer be able to answer the questions the young person has about the topic.

For more than 15 years, we at WCATY have offered an opportunity for advanced study in areas of interest for bright young people working with an academic mentor. Through the Young Scholars Program we are able to grant funds for the student and the mentor to use in undertaking an intensive research project.

These funds must be applied for through a grant written by the student and is due in March. The applications are judged by a panel of experts in many academic fields and, if chosen, the student and mentor will be notified in April and the research project can begin.

The student/mentor team will have the months of May through August to complete this project and at the end of the summer, usually in September or October, the project will be presented at a Young Scholars Fair.

You may have a mentor in mind or we may be able to help you approach an expert in your chosen field. Your academic mentor should be someone who is able to work with you in developing your research project, might be someone who will be able to give you space in a lab or access to a special library collection, and must be someone who will team with you on a summer-long, in depth research project. Academic mentors are asked to participate in the Young Scholar Fair in September and to provide us with feedback about your participation.

2007 Young Scholar Projects

Alex Cunningham, Brookfield
Conveying a Message of Acceptance Through Film

Camille Galles, Oconomowoc
The Connection Between American Poetry and Visual Art: An Ongoing Study

Suman Gunasekaran, Madison
Bridges: Strength, Stiffness and Stability

John Lee Hermes, Hayward
The One Hundred Mile Diet

Jennifer Knoeppel, Hartland
Health Assessment of Feral Cats Participating in Trap, Neuter and Return Program

Ben Kranner, Verona
Trebuchet: History and Physics

Tenzin Lendey, Madison
The Process and Publication of a Zine

Adam Rayment, Beloit
Small Scale Mechanics

Sam Richards, Oregon
Proposal to Create a Handheld Augmented Reality Game as a Tool for Understanding Important Trees on Campus

Rahul Subramanian, Mequon
Mass Transit: The Way of the Future

Casey Tolan, Shorewood
A Study of Playwriting

Sai Vangala, Brookfield
Practical Applications of Light Emitting Diodes

Lakshmi Varanasi, Racine
Study of Realistic Fiction-Short Story Writing

Nikki Weiss, Altoona
The Process of Writing and Publishing a Novel